The past week has been spent on page proofs and more page proofs. The proofs for The Royalist are done, the proofs for The Splintered Gods are well on their way to being finished. Last week was also a curiously positive week for a couple of other projects. Firstly there’s going to be a third Bulldog Drummond novella, which will be a laugh. Secondly, Gollancz have asked for three Gallow mini-stories (details when there are details to be had). So this week’s giveaway is going to be pairs of Gallow books, Cold Redemption and The Last Bastion. The Last Bastion pretty much picks up from where Cold Redemption leaves off, so they’re pretty much a couple. Normally it would only be one pair, but I’ve been persuaded to give away as many copies as goals Liverpool put past Sunderland later this week. Go reds!

Usual deal – comment on this post before March 31st and I’ll randomly select lucky victims. This week I want to know WHY HAVEN’T YOU READ DRAGON QUEEN YET which one you’d choose if you were offered – sword, axe or spear. Context free, no implied purpose, make up your own use, etc.

Although, though no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. I will try to clear the Big Book Bonanza this week. And Blood of Elves (sorry, Blood of Elves winner).

A couple of weeks back I signed off on another Bulldog Drummond novella. I might have made more of a fuss of it at the time, only there was another announcement about to come out that then didn’t and then was going to and then got delayed . . . an announcement which sort of merited a little more fuss.

I was in two minds, back right at the start of last year when Bulldog Drummond came my way. On the one hand it’s writing to someone else’s tune; on the other, I had some free time coming up over the course of the year (which then got used up when Sekkrit Projekt came along, and yes, that’s writing to someone else’s tune too but never mind that… SEKKRIT PROJEKT!). To be fair to Piqwiq, they weren’t at all prescriptive about what needed to be done. I think they would have been quite happy to have a great-grandson of the original Bulldog Drummond running around in the dying days of the cold war having Bond-like adventures. Even sticking with the nineteen twenties setting, I’m not sure they would have been that troubled one way or another by how closely I stayed with the originals.

Which is probably just as well, although it was initially my intention to try and stay true to the original. Well over a dozen Drummond novels originally published in the twenties and thirties and nearly as many movies, and they’re mostly out of copyright and a good few of them are available for free via the internet. I have read and watched bits and I can’t really recommend much of it. Product of their time. They’re just . . . a bit dull. And original Drummond as a character . . . he’s a bit not my cup of tea. I’m entirely fine with the whole action hero thing and the Moriarty-style super-villain and there’s a nice bit of wit here and there but I never quite picked up what makes Drummond himself stand out as actually interesting to a modern eye. And yes, England in the nineteen twenties wasn’t a picture of equality and social justice but even within that setting, original Drummond is pretty conservative. I don’t necessarily mind that – a reactionary hero trying to cling to old ways and values while the world around him is changing and leaving him behind is a trope any writer can have some fun with and I don’t see anything particularly wrong with having a bigoted and prejudiced lead character provided that the narrative challenges that view of the world rather than continually supports it – but original Drummond . . . doesn’t.

I will admit to having played a bit fast and loose with the source. What I’ve aimed for, in the end, is to maintain a character who echoes the likes of James Bond (for whom the original Drummond was an inspiration) and Indiana Jones but with a little more of an awareness of the world and how it’s changing back in those times. Why? Because history interests me. Why do it at all? Oh, because who doesn’t like a good old-fashioned fast-paced action-adventure in which villainous master-criminals embark on grand schemes and are thwarted (or not) through gritty resolve, wily thinking and the careful application of a good right hook. And if you’re reading this and find yourself thinking ew, not me then these stories, my friend, are indeed not for you.

In Dead Man’s Gate, the story begins with an explosion at the Bank of England as dozens of anarchists and Bolsheviks pour into the building, something more akin to a riot than a robbery. As the unrest is subdued and as the last of the anarchists are either restrained or make good their escape, we see a man walking calmly away. In his hand he tosses a very large and old-looking key. This is the enigmatic Mr Crabbleston, and it’s down to Drummond to infiltrate London’s anarchists and Bolsheviks to uncover Crabbleston’s dastardly plan to bring the British Empire to its knees as he stages the most daring theft in modern history. I have no idea who the woman is on the cover for this one, but does Drummond look a bit like Bond in this cover art? Rumour has it that the model is/has been Daniel Craig’s body double.

I kind of like all these covers. They’re simple but have a nice forties feel to them. I can see Humphrey Bogart in them. Well . . . if I close my eyes and use my imagination I can.

There are a few reviews kicking about (other than Goodreads and Amazon) for Dead Man’s Gate, but only a few.

In The Faceless Men, the death of a government Secret Intelligence Service agent draws Drummond into the opium dens of Limehouse in pursuit of a mysterious Chinese Triad lord, a far-off conflict between nationalist and communist forces and the shady world of international espionage while all the time umm-ing and ah-ing about getting married. I had a lot of fun in this one with my Chinese spy, Wei Li. Wei Li might have to come back in something again one day.

In the Jaguar Mask, the story begins at the Museum of Natural History in New York. Yale university, sponsored by Senator Hiram Bingam, have allowed a quantity of Incan artefacts to be put on display. At a private party at the museum the night before the exhibition opens, Senator Bingham is the guest of honour. He finds himself in conversation with an unknown Englishman who calls himself Crabbleston, who seems to know a great deal about the Incas, about the fabulous golden Jaguar Mask that’s the centrepiece of the exhibition, and also about the general political instability that blights Peru as a whole in these troubled times. After the stranger takes his leave, Bingham goes to take a closer look at the mask again. Something is wrong. Right in front of a hundred people, the real mask has been stolen and replaced it with an expert fake…

Actually I haven’t written than one yet. Drummond may or may not be married (yes, the author is umm-ing and ah-ing too). But it definitely sees the return of Mr Crabbleston, because he was WAY too much fun in Dead Man’s Gate, and if the first two were Bond movies in disguise, this time we’re going for Indiana Jones.

Anyway, that’s it for now. Um . . . hum the Bond theme as you leave. Or Raiders of the Lost Ark. Oh, and here’s a very short extract. And a picture of a Supermarine Southahmpton, because I had to look up seaplanes, and because it’s kind of like a banana with wings and a tail.

Things that happen when you have more than one publisher: Two page proofs arrive at one (for those of you who don’t know, the page proofs are the last stage of the process where the last proof-reading occurs and at this point there’s an actual deadline for getting shit done, and generally pretty tight ones too).

I spent yesterday at a small literary festival. This involved showing up with a box of books. I have, I discover, quite a lot of books. Probably more than I have a use for. So this week I’m going to give away all kinds of stuff. There will be some Nathan Hawke. There will be some Stephen Deas. I have Adam Roberts, Joe Abercrombie, Brandon Sanderson, Stephen Baxter and numerous other. The gods of random will pick one entry for every four comments until I run out of books. Aaaaaad….. GO.

Usual deal – comment on this post before March 24th and I’ll randomly select lucky victims. This week I want to know your must-read books.

Although, though no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. Well, so far. Recent winners, I have (just about) cleared my backlog again – they’re all in the post!

Maybe it’s a sign of something when a book you wrote comes out and you didn’t even know. Admittedly not a big book. But it was fun. Got a bit of steampunk yearning out of my system too (it has an airship, OK).

Work is currently suspended on the last dragon book (I want to call it Black Moon now but that’s probably already taken, right?) while I wait for a alpha reader to read everything except the last act (which isn’t written yet). I don’t know who the hell told Zafir she could just take over this series but I suppose one doesn’t argue with a dragon queen. Copy edits for Empires are done, the edits for the second Bulldog Drummond novella are done and there are rumours of possibly a third. This week’s project is a structural going-over for the second civil war mystery, in which the poet Milton figures fairly prominently.

This week’s giveaway is Sapkowski’s Blood of Elves because I like Geralt and yes the gaesm were fun too (the first more than the second) but I do mean the books. Gollancz has a new one heading out soon. Poke me on Twitter (@stephendeas) and I’ll see if I can give away a copy of that too when it comes out.

Usual deal – comment on this post before March 10th and I’ll randomly select a lucky victim for a free copy of the book. This week I encourage you to explain to me why elves so often have wierd-looking curvy swords, or why dwarves always have axes, or why orcs have . . . whatever it is that orcs have. Or just point out the typos in this post (it’s past midnight, dammit. My fingers are slurring). Amuse me, if you will, but you don’t have to to enter.

Although, though no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. Well, so far. Recent winners, I have (just about) cleared my backlog again – they’re all in the post!

I think I might be re-titling the last dragon book. Possibly. All but the last act are drafted. Last week was spent editing my second Bulldog Drummond novella (of which more when I know anything about it) and there might well be a third. Copy edits for The Royalist are done, copy-edits for Empires are underway.

Genre, if you didn’t already know, managed to make some mainstream news over the weekend. Or here’s a different take on it. Whatever your view on the final outcome, not our finest hour. But never mind. If you’ve been following my giveaways over the last couple of years, you’ll have noticed that I keep giving away copies of Wolfhound Century because I really like it and it’s really different. So here’s the sequel. Richard Morgan has it about right.

Usual deal – comment on this post before March 10th and I’ll randomly select a lucky victim for a free copy of the book. This week I encourage suggestions for who would be a sufficiently SAFE master of ceremonies for an SF convention. Amuse me, if you will, but you don’t have to to enter.

Although, though no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. Well, so far. Recent winners, I have cleared my backlog – they’re all in the post!